Mateo Romero De Soto was born and raised in the Alola region, home of the trials and island Kahunas. As a boy, he always enjoyed watching pokemon in the wild and in battle, and used to sneak off to watch trials when he was young. Pokemon themselves were always so fascinating to him, and worth the scoldings he would get when he returned after running off - Most of the time, on the babysitter who would watch him while his parents were out making a living. Of course, due to his trouble making ways, the babysitter changed all the time in his mother's attempt to find someone capable of keeping Mateo in check.

But there wasn't a soul on the Island who could possibly keep him in check. He's always had such a free spirit, wanting to adventure and see what the world had to offer. He wanted the thrill and excitement of adventure, of catching pokemon and bonding with them while facing what the world had to offer. Before he was allowed to actually have pokemon, he pretended to have battles between stuffed animals, of which drew much fawning of the adults around him.

When the year came around that he was able to start trainer school, he jumped into it passionately. Though to say this supposedly studious nature lasted would be incorrect. While Mateo was passionate about pokemon and battling, he wasn't as excited about the other more technical, or boring in his mind, side of trainer school. Still, After one bad grade in one class and the scolding of a lifetime, he kicked himself in gear and got the very best grades he could possibly achieve. Which were pretty good, overall.

When he wasn't in trainer school in the first few double digit years, he was sneaking off whenever he got the chance. Of course, he always got caught, but even just a few glimpses of pokemon were well worth it. After a few years of honing his never-getting-anywhere-great stealth skills, he eventually convinced his parents to start taking him out more. He got to see more pokemon, and more battles as his parents kept him safe in the wilds of the island. He even got to see a few trial goers, though he felt it was less exciting than battles.

He heard, and he studied the leagues of many other places in the world. His region was the odd ball out, and he didn't appreciate the trials as much as others did. So he made it his dream to get out into the world and try out the leagues, without even a thought of completing the trials of his home first. His parents were hesistant, but with a mom who came from a different region originally, it wasn't hard to convince them.

So 18 came, and he set out, taking a ship abroad with the well wishes and funding of his parents. He agreed to call them once a week so they knew he wasn't dead or anything, and sent him off with an egg they bred - though with which pokemon, they didn't tell him. He liked the idea of the mystery anyway, and was happy caring for the egg, trying to guess at what it would be. What type he thought it was, and how big the pokemon would be, changed based on his mood.

And so he arrived in Hoenn - the league he decided to take on first. Of course he wanted to take them all on, and be the ultimate champion. But the first region was going to be the toughest, and he knew that. Once he got through one league, he'd have the experience and tough team to adjust and go through other leagues much more easily. Granted he'd still likely struggle a bit, but starting from nothing was always going to be the most difficult.

What he hadn't expected was that his biggest difficulties would be in being financially stable while he was off being a trainer. Sure, his parents were willing to help support him when they could, but he didn't accept their help unless it was an emergency. If he was going to do this right, he needed to work. He started out taking odd jobs between many places and disciplines, trying to find where he shined. Eventually the egg hatched into a Togedemaru, a little electric girl to be at his side. He started training with her, knowing until they got stronger and his team grew, he wouldn't be able to challenge a gym.

On a trip back home, Mateo and the now more experienced Luciana (Luci for short, but anyone but Mateo call her that and they'll be shocked) headed out for some daily training and ran into a rather rare sight. After a battle and success, Mateo caught his second pokemon - a male Pichu, fresh off the shores of MeleMele Island. It would take a while - a little over a year, in fact - before little Daxton would really start to bond with his trainer, fully coming around that this life wasn't so bad.

As the years passed, he found his calling in sales - Turns out being bright and bubbly was considered charismatic, and when people like your personality like that, they want to buy what you are selling. He became great at spinning things in a way that made his clients want to buy. And he worked his way up, putting aside a savings. He continued training, but lost sight for a bit of being a trainer - whether from hyper focus on his job or just wanting to build up his savings, he didn't truly know.

Eventually though, the years passed and he found himself with the funds and means to start his official pokemon journey in Hoenn. He'd been training, sure, keeping the knowledge and skills from battle school sharp, but his team was still small and he needed to read up more on the gyms in Hoenn and figure out where to go. He bought a Shellos off a breeder who had a surplus, and set off to explore the region more, seeing what it had to offer and preparing himself to start taking down the gyms, one by one.